MOSCOW, June 10 (RIA Novosti), Anna Kurskaya - A Russian economic education has become internationally competitive during the last two decades, so much so that local economics universities and schools are consistently in high demand among applicants, including, increasingly, among foreigners.
What kind of people come to Russia seeking an education in economics? Primarily Russian speakers from post-Soviet republics and countries that were not part of the USSR. They have many universities in different regions of Russia to choose from.
Another category includes foreigners who do not speak Russian, but hope to get jobs at foreign corporate offices in Russia or do business with Russian partners in their countries.
Not infrequently, foreign students in Russia obtain two diplomas - one Russian and another from a foreign university - thus killing two birds with one stone.
To date, the best Russian economic universities do not have that many foreign students, but each has traditions of its own in this regard. For example, Lomonosov Moscow State University's (MSU) Economics Department is attended by many students from China and former Soviet republics. The same is true for the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
Business Education
Like any other science, economics is based on universal laws that operate in every country of the world. But it also involves numerous practical details linked with particular national economic systems. This is why a Russian economic education may prove indispensable for those planning to work in Russia-related jobs.
"If foreign students intend to do business in Russia or have Russian partners, be it consumers or suppliers, then a local economic education will give them a good idea of the Russian realities. In addition to economic knowledge, they will gain an insight into how to do business here," Mikhail Khomich, Head of the SKOLKOVO Mentoring Association and MSU Business Incubator Development Director, told RIA Novosti.
He believes education's practical relevance should be the main criterion in choosing a Russian university by a foreigner who plans to do business in Russia. It makes sense for an applicant to determine in advance to what extent a university teaches practical skills.
Interestingly, the "Russian university - business in Russia" model does work for foreign students. Experts are familiar with stories of this kind.
"I have examples from SKOLKOVO and MSU of people from other countries coming to study here to do business later on in Russia or with Russia in such areas as trade, mediation, business tourism or internet projects. Regrettably, these examples are few and far between, but hopefully there will be more over time," Khomich said.
Rankings Not Always Right
International rankings of universities have become very popular the world over recently. If a university is absent from some well-known rankings, foreign applicants are less likely to be willing to sign on.
Over the last decade, the Top 300 of the QS World University Rankings has included two Russian universities with economic departments: Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) and St. Petersburg State University (SPSU), which held the 120th and 240th positions, respectively, in 2013.
Several more universities with economics departments figured in the top 400 and 500 in the rankings. The National Research University - Higher School of Economics is in around the 501st place, and the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics is in the 701st place.
The Russian Economic School is not part of the rankings (which are intended for classical universities only, rather than related schools), but many experts believe that it provides top quality economic education, comparable with what can be obtained from the best Western universities.
"As a graduate of the MSU Economics Department, I can say that in Russia there are many universities where you can get a good economic education, not just one. In the first place, I would name the SKOLKOVO Business School, which teaches entrepreneurship, the Economics Department of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, the Russian Economic School (RES) and the Higher School of Economics (NRU -HSE)," Khomich said.
He believes, however, that the Russian universities' positions in the world rankings do not always correlate with the quality of the education they offer, suggesting that applicants take into account the criteria underlying particular rankings.
"For example, if a ranking covers a graduate's salary, we will certainly lose to many rivals. The same goes for foreign publications, if they are held up as an important criterion, because Russian economists have not been widely published outside of Russia. This is why I wouldn't draw unequivocal conclusions based on rankings," he said.
Price vs Comfort
Currently the price of educational services offered by many Russian economic institutions is at an advantage on the market by comparison with European and US establishments, Leonid Bragin, First Vice-Rector of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, told RIA Novosti.
"And if we look at the full set of services, including lodging, transportation and insurance, we'll see that Russian universities are highly competitive," he said.
In 2013, Moscow was 38 out of 50 on the QS Best Student City Rankings, which shows that foreign students can feel as good here as at many other popular educational centers in the world.
Besides, a Russian education can help foreigners acquire Russian citizenship, Bragin added.
"This will be rather simple to do, if a bill, drawn up by the Federal Migration Service and the Ministry of Economic Development offering Russian citizenship to Russian university graduates who have worked in this country for no less than three years, is approved," he explained.
Russian vs English
Today leading Russian economic universities offer educational programs in English, which helps them attract additional foreign students.
For example, different departments at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics have term- or year-long sets of disciplines oriented toward foreign exchange students. But these can be options for Russian students as well.
"Teaching in English requires that teachers use modern interactive technologies, peruse English periodicals and have access to English databases, all of which have a positive effect on the level of teaching skills," Bragin said.
According to him, many economics universities in big cities have an opportunity to invite leading foreign professors, foreign companies' executives and employees of international organizations as instructors.
But even though teaching in English is increasingly widespread, foreign students at Russian universities have to be taught Russian. As a rule, specialized courses are being opened for the purpose.
"Learning Russian through university courses, where you can be fully immersed in the language environment, is the best thing you can think of. I taught foreign groups at MSU and saw that foreign students felt quite comfortable linguistically, because they had been given every opportunity for studying the language," Khomich said.
Experts believe that a combination of these factors should gradually increase the number of foreign students at Russian economics universities.
